Health and social care workers exposed to COVID-19 are at high risk of having mental health challenges. Health care workers are subjected to heavy burden during this period of COVID-19 pandemic, and in implications to control the virus. Health care workers have faced all its consequences (De Kock et al., 2021). Supporting their mental health wellbeing should be a priority. These researches were conducted to establish if there are any noticeable risks components for terrible mental health result among the health care workers during COVID-19 crisis. The main aim of the studies to identify the mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers, specifically to identify which groups are more vulnerable mental health problems and also to identify the risks and intervention factors related to health care workers. My PICO question is, in health care staff, how effective is personalized psychological approaches, good working environment, resilience, and adequate knowledge compared to availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in controlling mental health impact on social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
How the two articles support my PICOT question?
The studies will help investigate the impact of the COVID-19 towards mental health of health and social care workers. The studies will help me to know the overall percent of health and social care workers having symptoms of depression and anxiety. Studies will also help me to know factors associated to depression, insomnia, and anxiety such as stigma, medical background, absence of personal protective equipment, fear of infection, lack of counseling, and inadequate precautions. Articles will help me to know the level of the impact of every factor associated to affecting the psychology of health care workers. Both articles indicated that adequate knowledge, counseling, resilience and systematic support are fundamental interventions against extreme mental health results, as compared to concern about families, and availability of Personal protective equipment (PPE).
Methods
The studies used a quick review of the composition following recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Cochrane Collaboration’s. Studies researched 14 data banks, executing the analysis at two separate time points (Hendriksen et al., 2019). Research included observational, published and experimental research that outlined the psychological consequence on health and social care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. The studies also web based survey carried out from April 26 to May 12, 202. A total of 475 health and social care workers participated in the research. Depression and anxiety were measured using a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS: 0-20). Multivariable logistics regression analysis was conducted to know the risk factors of mental health results.
Limitations and Strength of the studies
These studies has discussed and synthesized current articles concerning mental health impact of the COVID-19 prevalent on health care workers. Main limitation was that there was no verifiable research exploring this impact on health and social care worker, limiting quality of being generalizable to the population reviewed. Current evident also indicate that having a continuing connection to a reimburse job, may be defensive against poor MH result during the pandemic. It was therefore necessary to have comparability between MH results and amongst HCWs, or the common population, who were not assiduously engage during pandemic. Regrettably, there was no study that included this information. Moreover, job retention plans have differed greatly amongst countries globally, thus restricting the generalizability of results if this information had been available. A major strength of the studies is they ventured towards wider inclusion, during the quickly changing COVID-19 environment.
Results
The studies showed that COVID-19 has a higher impact on the mental wellbeing of health and social care workers. Overall, 37.5 percent had symptoms of depression, 41.9 percent of health and social care workers showed symptoms of anxiety, and 33.09 percent showed symptoms of insomnia. Stigma encountered by health and social care workers was highly associated with greater chances of experiencing symptoms depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Background of medication for psychological problems was highly linked with a greater chances of having symptoms of depression (CI: 1.45-10.14 AOR: 3.83; 95%), anxiety (CI: 1.31–8.81 AOR: 3.40; 95%), and insomnia (CI: 1.52–9.62 AOR: 3.82; 95%) while inadequate precautionary measures in the places of work was primarily associated with higher chances of having symptoms of depression, and anxiety. Nurses had a higher chance of having depression and anxiety symptoms as compared to health workers (Khanal et al., 2020). Other risk factors associated to the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of health and social care workers were concern about family, gender (female), organic illness, absence of personal protective equipment (PPE), fear of infection, and close contact with COVID-19. Systematic support, resilience and adequate knowledge were identified as basic factors preventing against extreme mental health results.
Implications
There is recent call to acting for psychological science during COVID-19 study be undertaken to know intervention that can be put in place to control deteriorations in mental health wellbeing. Nurses are mostly affected the impact of COVID-19 and are encouraged to ensure there is clean and conducive working environment, seek psychological counseling, and take given precautions seriously. Strong psychological resilience at personal level can be effective in protecting health and social care givers from extreme mental health results. Studies also suggest that holistic approach to health and social care workers mental health wellbeing in necessary alongside with necessary structure changes to build safe, supportive, and healthy working environment. Further study including social care giver and research of wider societal structure is required.
Anticipated outcome of PICOT question
The anticipated outcome of my PICOT question includes; investigating on overall impact of COVID-19 to the mental health wellbeing of the health and social care workers. Secondly, factors associated to depression, and anxiety such as family concern, medical background, fear of infection, lack personalized psychological approaches, unhealthy working environment, inadequate resilience and unavailability of personal protective equipment (PPE) (McGlinchey et al., 2021). Thirdly, how effective personalized psychological approaches, good working environment, resilience and adequate knowledge as compared to availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) helps in mitigating effects of COVID-19 to the mental health of health care workers. The outcomes of the studies indicated that health care workers are at higher risk of developing mental health problems during this period of COVID-19 pandemic. The studies also indicated factors like lack psychological counseling, inadequate knowledge, and lack of resilience as some of the factors contributing to depression and anxiety. The study indicated that systematic support, resilience and adequate knowledge are basic factors preventing against extreme mental health results.
Conclusion
Health and social care workers exposed to COVID-19 are at high risk of having mental health challenges. Health care workers have faced all its consequences. Supporting their mental health wellbeing should be a priority. Overall, 37.5 percent had symptoms of depression, 41.9 percent of health and social care workers showed symptoms of anxiety, and 33.09 percent showed symptoms of insomnia. Other risk factors associated to the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of health and social care workers were concern about family, gender (female), organic illness, absence of personal protective equipment (PPE), etc. Systematic support, resilience and adequate knowledge were identified as basic factors preventing against extreme mental health results.
